Praiseworthy Portillo’s

She rolled her eyes. “I understand that you like it,” she said. “But as an alternative to worrying about world peace or getting a post written, that’s not exactly profound.”

“I wasn’t thinking about the taste,” I said. “Or not just the taste. I was thinking about the time that a friend and I decided that it would be okay to stop in the middle of a trip and spend the time to get a sandwich that I enjoy. And to introduce him to the sandwich. And the delight that he had in the taste and the gratitude I felt that he was willing to stop. Our friendship was deepened just a little that day. Our understanding that God created taste buds and relationship and the idea of time invested in stopping rather than being wasted in rushing.”

I hesitated. I didn’t really want to tell her. “I think it’s because that stop revealed some things I didn’t really want to see. I don’t like admitting my drivenness. I don’t want to acknowledge how often I assume that people don’t want to be inconvenienced.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” Ella said.

“I wanted my friend to get home to his family. I overestimated the amount of time that it would take to stop. But he is just as committed to being a friend as I am to not being a burden.”

“So living through that event, and seeing the smile on his face as he ate that sandwich, and knowing that he is a friend has been worth thinking about?” Ella asked. “Is that why Paul saw value in thinking about true and noble and praiseworthy things?”